If Instagram #transformationtuesday pictures are anything to go by, changing your body is easy if you just dedicate your life to it.
But the fact of the matter is, most of us aren’t able to dedicated our lives to fitness. We have jobs, social lives and commitments which mean we can’t workout everyday and eat chicken and broccoli for dinner every night even if we wanted to.
However surely it is possible to transform your fitness and physique and still live your life if you set your mind to it?
To put this to the test, two of The Independent’s staff members, Rachel Hosie and Matt Payton, worked out with a different personal trainer each for six weeks – we focused primarily on weight-training rather than HIIT or cardio.
Could we turn our bodies into those of fitness influencers in a month and a half? Read on to see how we got on.
INTRO
Rachel
For my six-week challenge, I was to train with top personal trainer to the stars, Rich Tidmarsh, who trains Professor Green, Vogue Williams and a host of professional athletes including Harlequin Jamie Roberts.
iven Rich has a reputation for being a tough trainer, I was mildly terrified. I exercised, but I wasn’t exactly into fitness.
As well as personal training sessions with Rich, I was to do group workouts at his gym in Clapham, Reach Fitness.
At 5’9”, my starting weight was 75.8kg, my waist measured 82.4cm and my body fat percentage was 31.2. I certainly had a long way to go.
Matt
I am not a fitness person – I am a ‘playing golf is enough exercise’ sort of chap who is more than partial to a pint in the club house.
The problem is I am 28, overweight and if I do not sort myself out now – I will never stop looking like a podgy Boris Johnson.
So off I went to the Six3nine gym in Covent Garden to meet Joshua Peters. Teaming up with Joshua was brilliant as we share a love of cricket, golf and music of the early 2000s. There was only one real difference – he is built like a terminator and I look like a trifle on a plate.
At 5’11” with a starting weight of 94.1kg and a body fat percentage of 32 per cent, I needed to get cracking.
My goal was to not only lose weight and get fit but to find a sustainable workout and regime and diet to carry on after my six weeks… Here is how it went.
In my first session with Rich, I do lots of peculiar exercises so he can learn how my body works. The good news: I’m quite flexible in my joints. The bad news: my back is like that of an elderly lady. Always excellent to hear at 24 years old.
I’m given an introduction to the basic weightlifting moves such as deadlifts, and am pretty chuffed to lift 40kg. Or I am until Rich tells me I should ultimately be lifting 1.5 .
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As I leave the gym sweaty, red in the face and with all my makeup melted off, I was mildly concerned by the fact that Rich said he was easing me in. This was not going to be easy.
The next day, I’d just shoved my second chocolate chip cookie into my mouth when Rich sent me my new nutrition plan. He wasn’t putting me on a diet as such, but explained that I simply needed to eat to fuel my fitness.
I’m to count my macros – that is, the amount of protein, carbs and fat I consume every day (the MyFitnessPal app was most handy for this). Rich set my ratios as 2:1:1, meaning I must aim to eat 150g of protein, 75g of fat and 75g of carbs each day.
He also tells me, tragically, that wine and prosecco are off the menu. I can, however, have gin, tequila and vodka. And I don’t need to be told twice.
As the week goes on, I keep getting caught out by carbs. There are carbs in everything! Even things you don’t think are carbs! And eating 150g of protein was a challenge too – I’d resorted to adding protein powders to me diet. Me! Protein powders!
After stepping on the hi-tech scales, Joshua calmed my nerves and explaining his approach is not to annihilate my body by the end of each session – his goal was to help achieve weight loss through weights-based training in the gym along with a balanced diet and lifestyle during my working week.
That being said I was put through my paces through some gruelling stretches and then introduced to correct techniques for weighted squats, press ups and other body weight-based exercises. After one hour, I realised I have never done a correct press up in my life… revelation.
Joshua made it clear our sessions were only a part of the program and outlined my daily goals:
1. Two litres of water a day
2. 10,000 steps
Rachel
I’ve resorted to weighing out my nut butter and realised I have no concept of how big a portion is. Instead of taking a piece of fruit as a snack for a train journey, I take chicken. CHICKEN! Nope, I don’t know who I am either.
I start going to the group training sessions at Reach – I realise I love the weights-based ones but detest the sessions that are mostly cardio-based. Reach feels different to other gyms because people seem to be there purely to get fitter and stronger, rather than for aesthetics.
